This was not a certain outcome. In fact, it's an outcome that Stevens Point and communities across central Wisconsin spent most of this year fighting hard to reach, after the firm lost out on a statewide contract that went to a Minnesota company. A provision added to this year's state budget will allow Wisconsin school districts to contract with different vendors, and this will allow the company to stay in Wisconsin - and to expand here.

It was a genuine community effort that Stevens Point celebrated this week, and one that has ripple effects here in Wausau and throughout central Wisconsin. It took involvement by political leaders from both parties - a rarity in itself - as well as grass-roots efforts from residents who called and wrote their elected leaders, who posted yard signs and attended rallies. It is a real success story.

It was the week the Wisconsin Valley Fair came to town, always an exciting time. Here were a few other items from this week's news were worth a second look:

Wausau has a lot of terrific local bakeries and diners and we intend to keep patronizing them, too. But let's face it: It is fun to have another option opening in town. And readers seem to enjoy it: The story on Daily Herald Media's website and the posts on our Facebook page were among our most-clicked and most-commented of the week. Welcome, Panera.

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Bigamist Tim Swinea was released from jail this week after being convicted of felony bigamy charges and sentenced to probation as well as the time he'd already served in jail. Swinea was the subject of a lengthy investigation by Daily Herald Media, and multiple sources from multiple cities painted a detailed portrait of a man who makes his way in the world by lying, cheating and swindling. You can read the full series - and you should - at www.wausaudailyherald.com/tangledweb to get a sense of the scope of the man's deceptions.

Now might be a good time for Swinea to make some changes in his life.

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Rep. Reid Ribble, the Green Bay-area Republican whose district lies to our east, deserves credit for speaking out this week about the sort of gerrymandering that is contributing to partisan gridlock in our political system. His statements were highlighted by Post-Crescent Media:

"In a National Public Radio interview," Post-Crescent Media writes, "Ribble said, 'You talk about the political dysfunction. If you're coming from a district that's 80 percent Republican or 80 percent Democrat, your big problem is whether you're going to get primaried. The very nature pushes you to the perimeter of the political spectrum, just by virtue of the people you're giving voice to. ... We're at a place now in this country where voters are not picking their representatives anymore. Representatives, through the gerrymandering process and redistricting, are picking their voters.'

"That's a strong statement, especially since the boundaries of Ribble's own 8th Congressional District were changed through the most recent redistricting to include Ribble's home in Sherwood, which was outside the district previously.

"The answer to gerrymandering is to take redistricting out of political parties' hands and have an independent panel draw the boundaries."

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Our View: Skyward expansion comes after grass-roots campaign

On Wednesday, Stevens Point gathered for the announcement of plans by educational software firm Skyward Inc. to build a new, $30 million headquarters and create 700 new jobs in the next 10 years,

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